MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry

The Android version of the Kongregate Arcade app is now available to download again. The app was originally pulled by Google when the firm claimed Kongregate was using the Android marketplace to advertise another app store. Kongregate CEO Jim Greer said he was shocked” by the decision, explaining that Arcade …

Digital download website Direct2Drive has introduced a new game rental service. Consumers can pay $5 to access five hours worth of game time from a select range of titles – including Konami’s Silent Hill Homecoming, Codemasters’ Race Driver Grid and Dtp’s Divinity II. If users decide to purchase a full …

Supermarket chain Asda has launched its online pre-order campaign for Nintendo’s 3DS, which launches in the UK on March 25th. The retailer is offering the device for just 217, though the use of a 15 off discount code (15OFF3DS) means that the actual price is just 202 – that’s almost …

Gaikai has hired two new members to its executive team, bringing decades of experience with online games to the cloud gaming service. Robert Stevenson has joined as senior vice president of interactive entertainment, while Tim Wilson becomes executive vice president of strategic relationships. Stevenson previously worked at Namco Bandai Games …

Developer BioWare has said it is investigating claims of alleged data loss suffered by some users of Mass Effect 2 on PS3. Some users of the studio’s forums have stated that following the game crashing, upon rebooting the machine their save data has become corrupted. In such a time-intense game …

The average earnings for a game developer is 32,203 ($50,794) according to new data. As part of a comprehensive salary survey conducted by Develop and MCV, answers from 298 game developers across the globe were compiled to give the final figure. The 32,203 wage figure is balanced by a wide …

Following reports of widespread job cuts at the firm yesterday, Disney Interactive has named Adam Sussman as its new senior vice president of publishing. He joins from EA where since 2007 he has served as the vice president of worldwide publishing at its mobile division. He tenure there saw a …

Publisher EA is remaining tight-lipped over the possible omission of former Sky Sports presenter Andy Gray from this year’s version of FIFA. Gray has dominated the headlines this week after being caught making disparaging remarks off-camera about female Premier League assistant referee Sian Massey. Yesterday the satellite channel sacked the …

Government-financed satellite news channel Russia Today has pointed the finger at Modern Warfare 2 following the recent terrorist attack in the country. Earlier this week a suicide bomber detonated a 7kg bomb at Russia’s Domodedovo airport, killing 35 people and injuring a further ten. It is though that North Caucasus …

Calls for government intervention as study predicts a 24% workforce reduction